Proposal B
by NettieC
Summary: The original Proposal had the ladies plotting the perfect proposal with Olivia, this time the guys are doing the plotting - and we see a different side to them. Be sure to read the original 'Proposal' too!


**Disclaimer: They're not mine ... but oh, if they were!!**

**AN: Thanks for the reviews for the original story.**

**..eo..PROPOSAL B..oe..**

Elliot Stabler knew he wanted Olivia Benson as a permanent part of his life. He knew it long before he could ever admit it, long before he was allowed to. If he was being honest with himself, running to her in the bus depot rather than after Gitano was the moment of truth … he was in love with her, couldn't fathom what would have happened had Gitano's knife edged a little deeper.

Then, in the only way he knew how to protect himself, he pushed her away and she left, not just once but twice. And in both of those absences he knew he was lost without her. Her stint in Oregon had only confirmed what he already knew, that Olivia had to remain a part of his life, a part of him … for without her he was nothing … not even himself.

She had a way of balancing him, centring him. A way to see through all his bravado and bullshit and to make him someone whom he liked being …

And all that was long before she warmed his bed at night.

He stared at the desk abutted to his; it had been Olivia's desk for so long that even now, as his partner of twelve months, Jordan Ramsay sat there pecking at the computer keyboard, he still thought of it as hers.

"Are you planning on doing any work, Stabler, or are you just going to sit there and stare at the desk?" Jordan questioned, picking up his coffee mug.

"Just thinking," Elliot said almost wistfully.

"Wondered what the noise was," he chuckled, tapping on the space bar.

"Shut up," he retorted, throwing a wadded piece of paper at him.

"What's up?" asked Fin coming over to them.

"Elliot's thinking," Jordan smirked. "More like fantasising, if you ask me."

"No one did ask you," Elliot replied. "So shut it."

"Ten bucks it was about Olivia," he continued, drawing out her name sensually.

"Shut it," Fin and Elliot said in unison, sharply. Realising the humour had gone from the situation Jordan stopped talking and moved to the filing cabinet.

"Well?" Fin asked quietly when Jordan was out of hearing range.

"Well, what?" Elliot replied.

"Was it Liv?" he asked and Elliot beamed. "When you gonna do the right thing by her, man?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," he smiled. "Figuring out the best way…"

"Oh, so it was weddin' bells I was hearing …" Fin chuckled.

"Only if she says yes," he replied. "I've gotta get this right … you know … do it properly."

"Well, let's say drinks in an hour at O'Ryan's, you, me, Munch and Cap … you can even bring the kid along," he said, glancing over at Jordan.

"Nah, I think we'll leave this one to the men, besides, I've seen the way he looks at Liv, I don't want to give him any other thoughts."

The four men sat around a booth in the back of O'Ryan's, Don drinking mineral water, the rest working their way through pitchers of beer.

"You ready yet, El?" asked Don, surprising Elliot.

"For what?" he replied, looking over at his boss.

"To tell us why we're here… you've got something on your mind, so spit it out," he instructed.

Elliot smiled. "I want to ask Olivia to marry me," he said slowly. "And I want to get it right."

"Ahhh, I wondered when you'd get your ass into gear and do it," Don grinned.

"I thought we could give El a few pointers ..." said Fin. "After all, there's four of us here and this will be the eighth wedding we've been involved in – definitely enough experience."

"Well, as the chief contributor," Munch began, "I can tell you it really doesn't matter about how you do it … to get to the wedding … the focus should be on the marriage – something which I failed at miserably," he said, only a hint of regret in his voice.

"How'd you propose, John?" Don asked, swirling his glass.

"Well, with number one, it was over dinner … your traditional proposal, nothing fancy. With number two, it was one of those all inclusive Niagara Falls deals … she booked it … said I could go or she'd take someone else. Number three …number three," he paused a moment and then grinned. "That one wasn't as much a proposal as it was a post coital slip … and number four … that was something; we were walking down 5th Avenue, hand in hand, when she stopped and looked into the window at Tiffany's. 'Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?' she said pointing to a jewellery box … I went to look but caught her reflection in the glass and I hadn't seen anything as beautiful – she was amazing … I dropped to my knee in the middle of the sidewalk and asked her – bought the ring there and then. Cost me a packet." He grinned to himself. "You know, I should have listened to her and gone up 4th Avenue like she wanted – wouldn't have cost me anything."

The men all laughed.

"What about you, Fin?" Elliot asked.

"Well, I'd thought about it for a while … it was drivin' me crazy. So I took her for a picnic, packed all her favourite things and put the ring in the basket … when she pulled it out at lunch I took her hands told her how incredible she was and how she meant the world to me and asked her to marry me … "  
"Aww," said John melodramatically.

"It woulda been if she said yes," Fin retorted.

"She said no?" Elliot asked.

"Good guess, Einstein," Fin smiled. "She said she'd have to think about it. About a month later she came to me and asked me to ask her again … I did and she said yes…"

"Should have got out when you had the chance," Munch said.

"Yeah, well hindsight's perfect, isn't it?" Fin replied, downing the rest of his beer.

"I…" Don began before clearing his throat. "I did it the old fashioned way." His eyes slipped to the table top, he hadn't spoken of his beloved wife in so long. "I went and asked Marge's father for permission to marry her. He gave me the third, fourth and fifth degree before consenting. The catch was I had to come to dinner the following Sunday and propose. So I did. I turned up early, to make sure I wouldn't be late and risk him changing his mind. I sat on the front step not wanting to appear overeager …finally worked up the courage to knock on the door … he'd invited the whole extended family over … he said it was to show me I wasn't just marrying Marge but marrying into the family. It was enough to make a man run for miles but I looked into her eyes and realised every crazy relative would be worth it. I asked her there and then in the middle of the sitting room … and she said yes. It was the easiest question of my life … and the best day … until the wedding day … she looked amazing …" he stopped as his eyes clouded over.

Silence descended over the group, a shared understanding of the tragedy there was in the only truly happy marriage between them ending in bereavement, while the unhappy ones died on their own.

"How'd you ask Kathy?" Fin asked, nodding towards Elliot.

"I didn't … not really … she came to me and said she was pregnant and my exact words were 'Shit, I guess we have to get married'," he said.

Fin chuckled. "What would you do if Livvy came and said the same thing?" he asked.

"Honestly?" Elliot asked and paused, the men nodded. "I'd probably cry. She wants a baby so much, and she'd be a wonderful mother, I mean she already is with my kids, and after everything she's been through … all the crap with her own mom… if I could do that for her … I … well…um," his voice trailed as his eyes welled up.

"Okay then," Fin said, patting his shoulder. "Guess we need to work out a plan…"

The discussion went late into the night but when the end came there was a plan and a use for the ring which had sat in Elliot's pocket for the past three months. It was simple enough … on the precinct's family picnic day the following week, he would take a walk with her and stop by the waterfalls, declare his love, present her with the ring and ask her to marry him … though he already knew he'd be begging her … he needed her more than he wanted her and he wanted her every waking, and sleeping, moment.

Arriving home he let himself in, disappointed she wasn't there. She'd been keeping long hours at the 11th lately, he didn't like it but knew it came with the job … being a Captain was never going to be an easy task for her.

Standing in the shower under the powerful stream of hot water, Elliot replayed the proposal plan over and over in his head until he knew better than his own name… the plan was perfect, foolproof. Caught up in his own thoughts, he was startled when the curtain pulled back and the object of his thoughts appeared as naked as the day she was born.

"Room for me?" she cooed as she stepped in.

"Always," he beamed, taking her hand and pulling her towards him.

"Hello there," she smiled, as her lips danced with his.

"Hello yourself," he replied, his lips working their way down her jaw and neck.

"You have a good night?" she asked, arching into him as his hand ran down her spine.

"Yeah, but would rather have spent it with you," he mumbled as he trailed kisses down her breastbone.

"Would have rather been with you too," she sighed leaning back onto the wall as his hands massaged her breasts.

As his lips worked their way back to her mouth, Olivia stilled, dropping her hands to her side.

"What's wrong, Livia?" Elliot asked, wrapping his arms around her and swaying her softly in and out of the water flow.

"I want you …" she began.

"I want you too," he whispered, moving his lips into her head and pressing his growing erection into her stomach.

"Not that," she protested softly. "I mean, not just that. I want you in that way too but I also want something else…"

"What's that?" he asked pulling back, and lifting her chin with a finger.

"Elliot, I want you to marry me?" she asked almost breathless. "You think it's something you could consider?"

Without speaking Elliot let her go before stepping out of the shower, leaving Olivia to think all sorts of things – all of which made her eyes brim with tears.

"El?" she called as he pulled back the curtain.

"Just had to get something, Liv," he said, moving back to her and wrapping her up in his arms once more.

"What was that?" she asked, her bottom lip trembling.

"This, baby," he whispered opening his hand to display the ring.

"So you do want to marry me?" she said nervously.

"More than anything," he whispered. "You want to marry me?"

"Aha," she nodded as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

As Elliot moved back to face her, he was mesmerised by the look of love and happiness he found in her eyes.

"Love you so much, Livia," he declared.

"Love you too, Elliot," she replied as his lips found hers.

Finally they were united body and soul.

**The End**

**..eo..PROPOSAL..oe..**

**Let me know what you think, if you have the time and inclination...**

**_Check out Bits & Pieces if you're looking for some more EO loving._**


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